A self-leadership program to help girls flourish
Unique to Perth College, InsideOut is a world-recognised self-leadership program for our youngest students through to our most senior. Our aim is to develop young women who are well-rounded in all aspects of their lives, are confident, caring and capable, and who grow beyond their years at Perth College.
Research has shown the significance of wellbeing as core to educational outcomes for girls across all year groups. The girls flourish when they experience positive emotions, are engaged in what they are doing and learning, accomplish their goals, enjoy good relationships, and have a sense of meaning. We understand that every girl has her own character strengths and seek to encourage and guide her to ensure her talents can be seen, heard and experienced.
Our program runs from Kindergarten to Year 12 and is tailored to each stage of learning. There are four key stages to the program. The first two stages form part of the Junior School curriculum and the latter are introduced in the Senior School years:
STEPPING IN: The Younger Years (K-2)
Adults who walk into any of our early years’ classrooms are always amazed at how much our younger students can identify and understand emotion.
Our focus is on girls developing their social and emotional intelligence. The girls are taught the basics of communication, how to express themselves using words, and how to identify and understand emotion. This helps them learn and tackle challenges at home, school, with friends or on their own.
STEPPING TOWARDS: The Tween Years (3-6)
Students from Years 3 to 6 learn to identify their strengths, manage friendships and develop mental toughness.
They will take part in workshops and activities to teach them how to deal with common friendship issues and learn how to stand up for themselves. They will also learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships and the importance of respect, and begin to examine their own character strengths and how they can draw on those throughout their life.
STEPPING UP: Transitioning into the Senior School (7-9)
The focus from Year 7 to Year 9 is transitioning students successfully into secondary education. The Years 7 to 9 girls learn to connect with their core values and beliefs, understand their strengths, deal with stress, develop confidence and be positive. They will participate in a series of workshops as part of the InsideOut program:
- Resilience: A positive psychology framework provides a pathway to build resilience and teaches the girls to practise gratitude, positivity, empathy, kindness and mindfulness.
- Cyber Safety: Students are involved in workshops which alert girls and their parents to the potential dangers of the digital world and the importance of maintaining a positive reputation online.
- Self-esteem and peer relationships: The girls will celebrate, challenge and change themselves, improve self-esteem, understand media messages and establish the importance of real relationships.
- City Smarts: In Year 9, girls can participate in a program to venture into the CBD with a police officer to learn personal safety when using public transport and when out at night.
STEPPING BEYOND: The Final Years of Senior School (10-12)
In the final years of their schooling at Perth College, girls focus on strengthening their leadership skills and preparing for life outside of school.
The techniques of positive self-leadership are introduced in Year 10, aiming to make students’ personal and school lives more effective and meaningful.
Students will participate in:
- An Amazing Race-style adventure through the Perth CBD, enabling them to put their skills and knowledge into practice
- A 10-day adventure learning camp, during which time the girls take responsibility for themselves
- A road safety course
- Leadership skills workshops.
Years 11 and 12 students can enrol in the Perth College Leadership Camp (PCLC), held prior to the start of the school year. PCLC is highly interactive and motivating, and is run in partnership with Burn Bright, an organisation whose simple goal is to take students from “surviving to thriving”.
Girls are divided into ‘tribes’ and work with mentors during activities and challenges to identify their character, visions, values, strengths, sense of purpose and dreams. Guest speakers and a community service project give participants new perspectives on the world around them, as they prepare for their final stage of secondary schooling.